Laundry-bag for trunks.



1. H. BARTLETT.

LAUNDRY BAG FOR TRUNKS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, me.

L225,@1 o Patented May 8, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

J. H BARTLETT. LAUNDRY BAG FOR TRUNKS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22,1916.

Patented May 8, 1917..

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.;

J. H. BARTLETT.

LAUNDRY BAG FOR TRUNKS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1916.

Patented May 8, 1917.

l zam o 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED TAT PATENT @FFICE JOHN H. BARTLETT, OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR'TO THE OSHKOSH TRUNK COMPANY, OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, ACOBPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 191?.

Application filed November 22, 1916. Serial No. 132,851.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. BARTLETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ushkosh, in the county of Winnebago and State of IVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in 'LaundryvBags for Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to laundry-bags for trunks, and more particularly for wardrobe trunks.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a laundry bag so constructed and mounted in the trunk that it will constitute a permanent fixture thereof, and thereby be prevented from becoming disconnected or being misplaced or lost during the use of the trunk, and, further, be moved clear of the trunk, when the latter is opened for access to the articles packed therein.

A further object of my invention is to provide a bag of the maximum size, while occupying that space which was heretofore unused in the trunk. It is a further object of my invention to provide means whereby the bag may be readily and easily emptied without removing the bag from the trunk, or without inverting either the bag or the trunk, or without withdrawing the soiled articles of clothing outward through the mouth of the bag. And a still further object of my invention is to provide, in con nection with said laundry bag, one or more shoe holders which are prevented from contact with the garments packed in the trunk by the bag itself, and further permit access to be had to said shoe holders without entering any of the sections of the trunk'or dis turbing any of the garments packed therein.

The invention consists further in the mat ters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a wardrobe trunk, the latter being shown standing upright and open and containing a laundry bag structure embodying the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of said trunk and showing the door or closure for the discharge opening of the lawn-- dry bag in its open position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of said trunk, the latter being open and showing the supporting member of the laundry bag structure in its open position;

Fig. l is a perspective view of said supporting member and laundry bag completely removed from the trunk;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on line 55 of Fig. 4 and showing the laundry bag structure applied to the trunk; and I Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view, taken on line 66 of Fig. 5, the bag member and shoe pockets being omitted for the sake of clearness of illustration.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown in detail one preferred form of laundry or like bag structure embodying the features of my invention and as being applied to a wardrobe type of trunk, which, as shown, comprises two vertical, hinged together sections 10 and 11, one of which constitutes the wardrobe section of the trunk and the other the drawer section thereof. As illustrated in said drawings, the section 10 constitutes the wardrobe section of the trunk, in that the extensible trolleys 12, 12, the garment hangers 13, 13, and the adjustable follower 14: are all located in their proper places in such section; whereas the opposite section 11 contains a tier of movable' drawers or like containers 15, 15. To lock the two sections 10, 11 together when the trunk is closed, I may employ any suitable form of locking mechanism designed for that purpose, and in the trunk shown, the wardrobe section 10 is provided at its upper end with a hinged lid or cover 16, thereby making the trunk of the open-top wardrobe type. g

The novel laundry bag structure embodying the features of my invention comprises a bag member 17, preferably made of a piece of textile fabric or other suitable material, and is secured to and carried by a supporting member 18, which when used in a trunk of the type referred to constitutes the internal or dust door for the wardrobe section 10 thereof, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5. When used in said trunk, the door 18 is secured along one of its side or vertical edges to the free side or vertical edge of the wardrobe section 10 by means of hinges 19, 19, so that said door 18 may .be swung into and out of position closing the wardrobe section 10, and, when swung into open position, will on the trunk section 10. As shown in Fig. 1,

said latch member'20 is provided with an outwardly projecting finger piece 22, which enables the latch member to be withdrawn from its keeper and thereby permit the door 18 to be swung into open position. To facilitate the opening of the door 18, the latter is provided on the outside thereof and adjacent the latch member with a flexible pull tab or flap 23. As illustrated, the. bag member 17 is secured to the inner face of said door 18, that is on the side of the door facing into the interior of the wardrobe section 10 when said door is closed, and said bag member is secured to said door along each of its two side or vertical edges by fastening members 24, 24. Manifestly, when the door 18 is closed, the bag member 17 projects into the wardrobe section 10 and is concealed from view by said door, the latter at such time also closing the wardrobe section. When it is desired to deposit soiled clothing or other articles in the bag, the door is swung open, as shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the mouth of the bag may be opened to receive such articles. Connected with the door 18 at or adjacent to its lower edge is a flat base member 25 arranged at right angles to said-.door and projecting into the wardrobe section 10 when the door is closed, as

shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The bottom of the bag 17 is closed and formed by said base member 25, the lower marginal portion of the bag being folded over and around the free edges of the base member and secured to the under side thereof, as clearly shown in said Fig. 6. In order to support the base member 25 and prevent the same from sagging under the weight of the laundry deposited in the bag, I employ a pair of inwardly extending, flat brace members 26, 26, which are secured to the inner face of said door, the base member being connected with said brace members.

i The bag member 17 being made and secured to the door or supporting member 18 in the manner described, said door 18 forms the front wall of the bag, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. When applied to a trunk,

the upper end of the bag 17 terminates considerablyshort of the top of the door, so that the upper end or mouth of the bag isbelow the extensible trolleys 12 and garment hangers 13. In other words, when the wardrobe section 10 is packed with garments on the hangers 13, 13, the upper end of the wardrobe section is completely filled, due to the .fact that the greatest bulk of the clothing is low the-same, and the follower 14 may be inclined inwardly and downwardly so as to .maintain the lower ends of the garments back in the rear part of the wardrobe sec tion, thus not only holding the garments out of contact with the upper end or mouth portion of the bag, but also permitting the lower end of the bag, whether filled or not, to project into the substantially unoccupied lower portion of the wardrobe section.

' at the hangers, whereas the less bulk is be- Manifestly, when the wardrobe section 10 is filled completely, the packed garments do not prevent the door 18 from being closed. The mouth of the bag 17 .is normally held closed by fastening members and in the manner to be hereinafter described.

In order to permit the soiled clothes or bag, I provide the door 18 with a relatively large opening 27, which is so located as to open into the interior of the bag adjacent the bottom or lower end thereof, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 5. For normally closing such opening 27, I provide a door or closure 28, located on the outer face of the main door 18 and being pivotally secured thereto by hinges 29, 29. Thus the closure 28 may be swung into its open position, as shown in Figs. 2, 5, and 6, whenever it is desired to remove the soiled articles from the bag and without requiring that the main door 18 be opened. To facilitate the opening and closing of said closure 28, the latter is provided on the outsidethereof and adjacent the edge opposite to its hinges with a finger piece in the form of a flexible pull-tab or flap 30,

and to lock the said closure 28 in its closed position I provide flexible locking tabs 3l,

31 secured to the door 18 and provided each with one member 32 of a snap fastener, the other member 33 of such fastener being provided on the outer face of said closure 28, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5. Said closure 28 when closed completely fills its opening 27 and lies flush with the outer face of the door 18 and thereby presents no projecting parts to prevent the two trunk sections 10 and 11 from being. tightly closed one against the other and with the door 18 therebetween. It is with this object in view that the finger pieces 23 and 30 and the fastening flaps 31, 31 are all made flat and flexible, as shown. To strengthen the door 18 about the opening 27 and, further, prevent the closure 28 from being swung into the interior of the bag, I secure to the inner face of the door and about thedischarge opening 27 therein an open frame member 34, the rails of which project over the edges of said opening 27 and form stop flanges for the. closure 28 aaaaooi 35,which is secured to the inner face of saiddoor and projects with the bag into the wardrobe section 10 when said door -is closed. The base member 25 and the braces 26 and 35 may be secured to said frame member 31.

The bag 17 is preferably made of such width as to provide a relatively large or wide mouth when opened, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, and thus permit the soiled clothes or other articles to be readily deposited in the bag when the door 18 is open. The mouth of the bag is closed by folding the material of the bag about its mouth upon itself and securing such folded portions to the inner face of the door 18 by means of turn buttons 36, 36, which project through suitable holes or eyelets provided along the upper edge of the bag, as clearly shown in Figs. 3, at, and 5. In closing the mouth of the bag, the following operations are usually made. First, the material at one side of the mouth of the bag is brought flatwise against the inner face of the door 18 and the hole 37 inserted over the adjacent turn button 36, the rotatable head thereof being at such time in its unlocked position. Then the central portion of the mouth of the bag is folded upon itself and the hole 37 inserted over the same fastener 36, whereupon the rotatable head of the latter is turned into its locking,

position, namely, at right angles to the stem of such fastener for holding the folded por-' tions of the bag closed, as shown in full lines in Figs. 3 and 5. Then the opposite side of the mouth of the bag is folded and fastened by its fastener 36 in a similar manner. By turning the rotatable heads of the turn buttons 36, 36 into their unlocking positions,

the mouth of the bag may be readily opened.

To the inner surface of the closure or door 28 I secure one or more bags forming shoeholding pockets 38, 38, the latter having elastic tapes at their mouths and cl osed by a closing flap 39, which is'held in its closed position'by tie-strings 4Q, 40, as shown'in Figs. 2 and 5. By providing the shoe pockets on the inside of said door 28, said pockets andthe shoes inserted therein are, concealed from view when said door 28 is closed and, further, occupy the minimum amount of space in the trunk and are prevented from contact, at all times, with the garments packed in the wardrobe section bythe bag 17. This is a decided advantage in connection with wardrobe and like trunks, because the shoe pockets are likely to become greatly soiled by the shoes inserted therein and, being located in the laundry bag, it is apparent that it is of no consequence whether or not the articles of clothing placed in the bag become soiled by the shoes in the shoe pockets or the pockets themselves, as the articles in said bag 17 are soiled in the first instance. Moreover, by providing the shoe pockets on the door 28, said shoe pockets may be readily and easily brushed out or cleaned when the door 28 is open and while the main door 18 is closed, thus preventing the dust and dirt, caused by such cleaning, from entering and soiling the garments packed in the wardrobe section 10. F urthermore, by providing the shoe holders 38 on said door 28, the shoes therein may be readily reached without opening the wardrobe section 10, thereby preventing the shoes from coming into contact with and soiling the garments packed in the wardrobe section.

Some of. the advantages of my invention are as follows: The fact that the laundry bag member 17 is secured to the door 18,

. and the fact that said door forms one of the 18, the bag becomes a permanent fixture of the trunk and cannot become detached therefrom or become misplaced or lost. Moreover, by providing the bag on the hinged door 18, the bag may be swung clear of the trunk and in no way interfere with the use of the wardrobe or the other section of the trunk. Then again, by having-the discharge opening for the bag 17 in the door, the articles may be conveniently and quickly removed from the bag without opening the door or even inverting the bag. Other and further advantages incident to my novel construction will readily appear to those skilled in the art.

While I have shown and described herein my novel laundry bag structure as being applied to a trunk of the wardrobe type, yet it is to be of course understood that my bag device could'be applied to trunks of other types and, further, be used in any connection where it is desired to accomplish the objects of my invention. Although I have described and shown herein in detail oneform of laundry or like bag structure embodying the features of my invention, yet it is to be understood that the details of construction and arran ement of parts shown may be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I do not construction and arrangement of parts pended claims.

wish to be limited to the exact details of.

I claim as my invention: 1; A trunk, comprising two hinged together sections, a door for closing one of said sections and adapted to extend between said' sections when the trunk is closed, a laundry bag secured to said door and adaptedto extend into one of said sections when the door is closed, said door being provided with an opening extending therethrough and opening into said bag so that access may be had thereinto when said door is closed, and a closure for said opening.

2. A wardrobe trunk, comprising two hinged together sections, one of which constitutes the wardrobe section of said trunk, a door for closingsaid wardrobe section and being hinged along one of its edges thereto, a laundrybag secured to said door and adapted toproject into said wardrobe section when the door is closed, said door being provided with an opening extending therethrough and opening into said bag so that access may be had thereinto'when said door is closed, and a closure'for said opening.

3. A wardrobe trunk, comprising two hinged together sections, one of which constitutes the wardrobe section of said trunk, a door for closing said wardrobe section and being hinged along one of its edges thereto, a laundry bag secured to said door.

and adapted to project into said wardrobe section when the door is closed, said door forming one of the walls of said bag. and being provided with an opening extending therethrough and opening into said bag so that access may be had thereto when said door is closed, and a closure for said opening. p

4. A I device of the character described, comprising a supporting member, a? laundry bag made of flexible material, said bag being secured to said supporting member on one side thereof, said supporting member forming one of the walls of said bag, a base member secured to'said supporting member and forming the bottom wall of said bag,

and fastening members on said supporting member and said bag and adapted, when engaged, to hold the mouth of said bag closed.

5. A device of the character described,

comprising a supporting member, a laundry bag secured to said supporting member on one side thereof, said supporting member forming one of the walls of said bag, a base member secured to said supporting member and forming the bottom wall of said bag,

said supporting member being provided with an opening extending therethro and opening into the lower portion of said bag, and a closure for said opening, said closure being opened from the-side of said supporting member opposite to said bag.

6. In a' wardrobe trunk comprising two hinged together sections one of which constitutes the wardrobe section of said trunk,

a door. for closing said wardrobe section and being hinged along one of its edges thereto, said door being provided with an opening extending therethrough, a hinged closure for closing said opening and adapted to be swung outward from said door, and a shoe holder mounted on the inner face of said closure.

' .7. A Wardrobe trunk, comprising two hinged together sections, one of which constitutes the wardrobe section of said trunk,

stitutes the wardrobe section of said trunk,

a door for closing said wardrobe section, said doorbeing provided with an opening extending therethrough, a. closure for said opening, and a shoe holder mounted on tlfe' inner face of said closure.

9. A wardrobe trunk, comprising two hinged together sections, one ofwhich con; stitutes the wardrobe sections of said trunk, a door for closing said wardrobe sod-tion, a rereceptacle secured to said door and adapted to project into said wardrobe section when said door is closed, and means permitting access to be had into the interior of said receptable, adjacent the bottom thereof, while said door is in position completely closing said wardrobe section.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 20th day of November, A. D. 1916.

JOHN H. BARTLETT. 

